I am lucky enough to travel all over the world and consider myself well-organised and usually take everything (and more!) that I will need whilst away. However, on a recent trip to Ottawa, Canada I woke up with cystitis and popped along to a chemist for the sulphate sachets that I normally buy over the counter in Tescos. I was shocked to find that not only are they not available in Canada but that the only alternative treatment was to visit a doctor for a antibiotic prescription that cost me £75.00! I suppose the moral here is not to assume that something you buy over the counter at home will necessarily be available abroad, even somewhere with an excellent healthcare system like Canada. Take it with you!

Hmm! Know the feeling! There are practically no OTC medicines of any value sold in France (well that aren't herbal or alternative or cosmetic etc) so I regularly buy up in the UK when I'm visiting friends.

BUT ... even the best laid plans go astray .... the Immodium Plus that I bought were absolutely USELESS against my TD in Morocco and whilst I am glad I did try to sort this out in advance, I was sadly underwhelmed by the lack of positive action by the said product!!

In some places the opposite is true. In goa you can buy anything over the counter, a strip of 50 immodium tablets is less than a pound as is a ventolin inhaler, the amount of money people have spent on paracetamol ect at home would cover the cost of a night out

Immodium (or similar) is useful when you're travelling but it's not a cure for many of the bacterial intestinal infections you can pick up in some countries. Often the local pharmacy will have something more effective. If it gets really bad (and I speak from experience) rely on your travel insurance and call a doctor. I was happy to pay the £30 excess for about £150 of very effective treatment on one unhappy occasion in the middle east.
Rob

I always buy my prescription migraine spray in Turkey. Its a lot cheaper than the cost of a prescription here. I also get a few tubes of antibiotic cream (bactroban) as it costs pennies. Even stuff like Ibuprofen is worth stocking up on.

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